One More Day
by Tara22
Summary: Willow is a college student and she's finding it a little hard to fit in. It’s the usual gang but in an alternate universe! This is my most recent fic.
1. Chapter 1

Title: One More Day

Author: **Tara22**

Summary: It's the usual gang but in an alternate universe!

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to Joss Whedon, etc etc.

Part 1

"Bleh," Willow Rosenberg exclaimed, scrunching her nose at the container of beetles in front of her. "And we have to do _what _to find out their gender?"

"The professor said we're supposed to poke them in the tummy with a toothpick and their, er, privates are supposed to pop out," her lab partner explained patiently.

"But, but, they're so small! They're the size of…of…well, really small beetles!" she argued, "wouldn't that squish them?"

"I suppose so," her partner responded with a sigh. "Look. Willow, right?"

The redhead nodded.

"I imagine the professor wouldn't have set this assignment if it weren't physically possible. Why don't you go ask him for help?" the other girl finished.

Willow stood there dumbly as her partner sauntered off to work alone, leaving her behind both physically and intellectually.

"Some partner," she mumbled to herself.

Willow had been studying science at university for about two weeks and it was definitely nothing like school. All her classmates were either far smarter than her or just really good at pretending they knew what they were doing.

Being the brainy type, the redhead has graduated high school with gusto. She had been a good student and had felt confident that university would be a breeze.

"They never taught us this in Biology," she grumbled to herself.

The lectures she could handle. Heck, the notes were handed to them on a silver platter. It was the practices that really got to her.

She studied her prac manual:

_Split your beetles into groups of Tr. Confusum and Tr. Castaneum_

_Check for their sex patches to determine their gender and follow the steps set out for you by the instructors_

_Draw a map diagram of the data and based on your findings, form a hypotheses about which beetle type is likely to have more offspring._

"Oh, bugger," she thought, glancing around the room at all the other students already well into their assignments. She looked at the front of the room where the professor stood and sighed deeply, resigned to the fact that today would be another one of those put-aside-her-pride-and-make-a-fool-of-herself days.

**12345**

The floor creaked as Willow entered the kitchen.

"How was school, Will?" the blonde-haired woman asked.

The redhead collapsed on a stool and sighed loudly.

"That good, huh?"

"Oh, Buffy," Willow cried mournfully, "I don't know that I'm cut out for this."

Buffy made her way over to her housemate and sat down next to her. "Cocoa?" she offered.

"Do we have any of those little marshmallows?" Willow asked wearily, taking the cup from her best friend.

"Oh yes, it isn't a hot chocolate without marshmallows!" Buffy quipped, standing and retrieving the small puffs of sugar. "Now talk to me. What's up in that mind of yours?"

Willow brought the mug to her mouth, enjoying the heat of it, as the steam rose and left perspiration on her upper lip. She took a large sip and felt some of the chill from the cold day leave her.

Her best friend was studying her expectantly. The two girls had been housemates for a couple months now and it was working out really well.

Willow was the student while Buffy worked full time at an office materials production line. She was in charge of the rulers.

In the evenings, whoever was home first cooked. This was usually Willow and they usually ended up eating microwave meals.

Tonight however, Buffy had gotten home first and the redhead could smell some sort of casserole in the oven. It made her mouth water.

"I think I might be dumb, Buff," Willow squeaked, "I'm just not following! It's all so hard and everyone else seems to know what they're doing. They go off with their friends and work in groups and finish so fast! Most of them leave early and they have these looks on their faces like 'ha! I'm smart! You're not! Dummy!' and I just feel so dumb"

The blonde studied her friend thoughtfully. "Look Will, you topped our class. I would imagine that should count for something, no? You're not dumb. This is just all new to you. I bet if you asked some of your classmates how they feel about it all they would be just as scared and freaked as you. I think you need to stick it out. It'll get better. I'm sure of it. "

Willow played with her cocoa before answering, popping a few marshmallows on top, and stirring it to make a white swirl. "But what if you're wrong, Buff? I'm just scared"

Buffy reached out and grabbed her friend's hand, giving it a little squeeze. "You'll be great, sweetie. I just know it. But I was thinking, maybe you should try and make some friends or something. You'll feel like less of an outsider if you do."

Willow thought back to earlier that day and shuddered as she remembered the scorn on the faces of her classmates as the professor made a public example of her:

_"Ms. Rosenberg would like to know how question 4 is supposed to be done. If anyone else needs help with this, please come over to her table"_

And, of course, no one had.

"I'm not so sure that I have anything in common with any of the people in my class, Buff."

The blonde thought this over. "Well, you could always join a club. Why do the friends have to be from the science faculty?"

"I guess they don't. I dunno, Buff," the redhead bit her lip nervously, "I just don't know…"

All of a sudden the smell of burning chicken filled Willow's nostrils. "Um, Buff, when is the casserole ready to come out?"

Panic crossed Buffy's face as she stood abruptly and ran towards the oven. "Shit!" she exclaimed, waving her oven mitt up and down to abate the smoke. She grabbed the pan and placed it down on a heat pad.

"Think it's still edible?" Willow asked tentatively.

"There's only one way to find out," the blonde responded, lifting the foil gingerly.

"It, er, looks great, Buff"

Both women looked down into the pan where a once beautiful and fragrant casserole was now burnt and smelly.

"Looks like we're having microwave dinners tonight," Willow said, trying to be chirpy for Buffy's sake.

Buffy sighed. "It took so long to make, too!"

Just then the phone rang, the shrill tones of the Mexican hat dance filling the air.

"We have got to change that ring, Will!" Buffy squawked, diving for the phone.

"Yello, Buffy Summers speaking!"

Willow began to tidy up the foil and with one last distasteful look at the casserole, she poured the whole thing into the trash. She could hear Buffy in the other room. The blonde was talking animatedly into the phone.

"Doesn't leave too many people it could be," the redhead thought with a grin.

Just as Willow was about to pop a microwavable chicken stroganoff into the toaster oven Buffy came charging into the room.

"Drop that chicken stroganoff!" the blonde hollered.

"Wha, why?" the redhead asked with confusion.

"Guess what today is, Will," Buffy exclaimed. "I don't know how we could have forgotten!"

"Uh…hmmm…something to do with Xander?" Willow asked.

The blonde gaped at her. "How did you know?"

"Who else calls us?" the redhead replied with a laugh. "Anyway, what? What did we forget?"

"Tonight is Xander's recital! We're supposed to be there in 20 minutes and then we were gonna go out with his friends to a German bar."

Willow gasped, shoving the dinners back into the freezer. "Oh my gosh, how could we forget something so important to him. Quick! Quick! Go dress!"

The two girls ran to their respective rooms and began to dress.

Xander was having his first recital. After graduating high school he had become very depressed. Having no reason to leave his house anymore he was forced to spend more time with his parents, to him a fate worse than death. Buffy and Willow had been so concerned about him that they decided to do something about it. They signed him up for numerous activities; sailing, painting, origami, cooking and ballet. Most of them made him feel foolish or bored, but he'd taken to ballet like a fish in water.

Xander was their best friend. The three of them spent most of their high school lives together. It was all for one and one for all. Buffy and Willow didn't see him as often as they would have liked because of work and uni but they still tried to make time at least once a week to see each other.

"You ready to go, Will?" Buffy called from the hallway as she pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"Coming!" Willow said, grabbing her handbag as she ran out the door.

**12345**

The auditorium was surprisingly crowded as the two girls shuffled in. Someone shoved a brochure at them and Willow accepted it graciously.

"Since when is there a ballet of Miss Congeniality?" Buffy asked, her eyebrow raised, "I'm not seeing the danceyness in that film."

Willow shrugged, "I dunno, Buffy. What part does Xander play?"

"I think he's the gay guy that teaches Sandra Bullock to be a girl," the blonde responded.

"Oh, that's a major part! How cool!" the redhead said excitedly, dragging Buffy along the aisle to their seats.

Ten minutes later the show had started and the audience was laughing.

Buffy wiped tears from her eyes, "I have to admit it, this is funny as hell!"

Just then Xander appeared on stage. He was dressed in tights and a suit jacket and he was wearing a great deal of makeup.

"Dude!" Buffy exclaimed.

All Willow could do was gape.

Their best friend was pirouetting across the stage like he'd been doing it his entire life.

"He's really good," the redhead said in awe.

"Uh huh," Buffy agreed. "Whoever made up that thing about guys doing ballet not being manly is full of it. Man, he actually looks hot!"

Willow eyed her friend warily.

"Wha?" Buffy asked, "I'm a girl and he's hot. So sue me!"

By the time Xander got out of the dressing room most of the crowd had gone. Willow ran over and threw her arms around him.

"You were amazing, Xand! I'm so proud of you!" she squealed.

"Oh, yes, so very amazing," Buffy added, noticing that he was still in costume. "Have I ever told you that you look good in tights?"

Xander grinned sheepishly. "Thanks, guys. I'm glad you could make it. Are you still coming to the bar with us?"

"We wouldn't miss it for the world," Willow assured him.

"Great! I'm just gonna go get dressed," he responded, turning and walking back through the door to the dressing rooms.

"No rush!" Buffy called after him, her eyes glued to his butt as he walked.

The two girls watched as various cast members exited through the door.

"Ohh," Willow exclaimed, "There's Sandra Bullock!"

After ten minutes, Xander strode boldly through the door. He was dressed in normal Xander clothes again, khaki shorts and a t-shirt from Joe's Crab Shack. Behind him stood three other cast members.

"Hey guys, this is Jim, Fred, and Dave," he introduced.

"Willow," the redhead said with a nod and a smile.

"And I'm Buffy," the blonde purred, having taken obvious interest in Jim, a lanky redhead. She looped her arm through his and led the way.

It was a short walk to the bar and they filled the time with idle chitchat.

"What does Frau zu Mann mean?" Willow asked curiously as they entered.

"I'm not sure," Fred responded, taking in the colourful walls and bright lamps.

The group sat down at a table and a waiter approached them.

"Guten Abend," she said cheerfully.

Willow bit her lip and tried not to laugh.

The waiter was not actually a waiter. She was a waitress.

Willow looked around the room and noticed that it was a common theme amongst the staff there. "I think I know what Frau zu Mann means now," she said quietly.

The waitress was dressed in lederhosen and a very masculine blouse. Her hair was slicked back into a tight and low ponytail.

"Welcome to the Frau ze Mann. If you need anything, feel free to flag me over," she continued. "My name is Anya and I'll be your waiter for the night."

When Anya had gone Buffy looked up from her place on Jim's lap and sighed. "Ok, I give up, what does Frau zu Mann mean?"

"I think we're in a German Drag King bar," the redhead responded with amusement.

"Oh! Good choice, guys!" Buffy said with a laugh.

Jim, Fred and Dave turned to look at Xander.

"What? Why are you all looking at me?" he whined defensively.


	2. Chapter 2

Title: One More Day 

Author: **Tara22**

Summary: It's the usual gang but in an alternate universe!

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They belong to Joss Whedon, etc etc.

Part 2

Willow approached the door cautiously. She wasn't sure that she was at the right place, and if it was, that she wanted to be there. She pushed the door and felt it swing open under her pressure.

"Um, hello? Is anyone here?" she asked quietly into the dark room.

When noone responded she turned to leave.

"Oh, hi!"

The redhead blanched. Before her was a buxom woman dressed entirely in leather. She had a nose ring and at least seven piercings in her ears. Her hair was a vibrant shade of purple and she greeted her with a large smile.

"How can I help you?" the woman asked joyously.

Willow blushed and found it hard to speak.

"Oh, wait, you're here to speak to me. Quick, come into my office. My name is Donna."

Donna ushered Willow in and shut the door. She switched on the light, revealing a couch, desk, and a small black refrigerator.

"I know, I know, it isn't much, but it's home," Donna clucked proudly like a mother hen. "Now you, what's your name, dear? I'm sorry about before. I should know by now that therapy is an embarrassing thing to admit. I promise I don't usually do that! No. Don't just stand there. Sit. Sit."

The redhead sat awkwardly on the couch. "My name is Willow and I don't need therapy. I need some, er, advice."

"Of course you don't, dear, they never do."

The therapist smiled earnestly at her and walked to the fridge. She opened the door, humming silently to herself, and looked inside it until she found what she wanted.

"Ah hah!" she cried happily. "Here, take this"

Donna handed Willow a can of soft drink. On closer inspection Willow realized that it was not one like she had ever seen before.

"What is this?" the redhead asked with amusement.

"It's a Brazilian soda, and its flavor? Although I won't deny that drinking it has some effects similar to those you can expect after taking caffeine, it is the exotic flavor that makes it so interesting. It delivers a fruity taste, isn't overloaded with sugar, and has a pleasant aftertaste."

The therapist pulled the tab on her can and took a large sip. "You've got to taste it, Willow!"

Willow opened her can and sipped it. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "it is quite wonderful. You described it well!"

"Did you like that?" Donna asked with pride. "It is how they describe it on the website. I memorized it!"

The redhead laughed. She felt comfortable with Donna and it surprised her. She'd never been very good at talking to strangers, particularly women.

"Now," the therapist started, taking a seat on the couch next to Willow, "tell me, what 'advice' do you need?"

"I'm having some trouble at school," Willow started.

Donna nodded encouragingly.

"I just, I've been having trouble with the learning, but I guess people always do at the beginning. I mean, I bet even Mozart had to learn how to play the piano before he became famous, right?"

"I would imagine so," the therapist agreed.

"But, I think, well my housemate thinks, and I guess I agree, cause it does make sense, but I just don't know if it will work though. I mean, I need to make some friends but I'm not sure how, Donna."

Donna grinned, "oh Willow, you should have just said so. That's quite easy."

"It is?" the redhead asked with confusion.

The therapist stood and unzipped her jacket. She dug around in the pocket on the inside of it and pulled out a large pile of rolled up paper.

"I know it's in here somewhere," she grunted.

Finally she found it.

"I hope you don't mind the wrinkles, Willow. As you can see I don't have very many storage places and the desk drawers are all filled."

"Of course not," the redhead assured her.

"Fabulous! Now look here. This is a list of all the clubs and activity groups we have on campus and the times and whereabouts of their meetings. If you join a few of these then I am certain you will make a friend, if not many!"

Donna sunk back onto the couch and handed the paper to Willow. "Perhaps if you have a look at this tonight and pick a few to try then you can go to the meetings over the next week and we can meet up again for another therapy, er, advice session."

Willow took the paper gratefully. She hadn't been certain if she should visit the therapist's office. When she'd read about her in the back of her uni diary she was positive that she would never do such a thing, but now that she'd met Donna and they'd had this chat she was glad she had.

"Thanks Donna, I appreciate this. I will do that."

"Good for you, Willow! I'm glad to hear it!" the therapist said, taking Willow's hand in her own and giving it a firm shake. "Good luck with everything. I look forward to hearing from you! Come any time, as you can see I'm not usually very busy!"

After the two women said their farewells, Willow threw her soft drink can in the trash and left. Behind her she could hear Donna humming something that sounded like 'Hit Me Baby, One More Time'.

'Well that was fun,' she thought to herself with a smile.

**12345**

Xander studied the list in his hands. "Milk, tick, bread, tick, marshmallows, tick, tampons? My god, mother you did not ask me to buy tampons!" he whispered to himself.

'Living at home sucks,' he complained silently. 'One of these days I am totally moving in with Will and Buffy.'

He thought about his two best friends and smiled. They'd had an awesome time the other night and he couldn't wait to see them again. It meant so much to him that they'd come to his recital and met his ballet friends.

Ballet was his saving grace. Sometimes he couldn't believe that there had ever been a time where he wasn't dancing.

"It's escapism," his father had snarled when he found out what Xander had been doing all those evenings. "You should be concentrating on being a man! Getting a real job!" His father didn't consider working part-time at an art gallery as a real job.

"Are you gay?" his mother had asked when she found out. "You know Xander. I don't think it's very normal for young men to be dancing ballet."

"No, no and no!" he'd told them both. "I'm not trying to escape! I have a real job! I am not gay!"

Of course they didn't believe him, but Xander was starting to think that he didn't care.

They expected so much of him yet gave so little of themselves.

'If they're worried that I'm so girly then why am I grocery shopping and buying tampons?' he wondered.

His mother had a habit of leaving him chore lists tacked to his door. This one was simple:

_Xander,_

_I have yoga tonight. I need you to buy the groceries. The list is on the fridge._

_Mom_

No 'thank you' or 'I love you' but he was used to that.

Xander made his way down the isles looking for the tampons. When he found them he looked both ways to make sure noone was watching and grabbed the nearest pack.

"That time of the month, huh?"

The man froze. "What?" he asked, turning to face the direction the voice had come from.

In front of him was a beautiful blonde woman. She smiled at him cheekily.

"I don't recommend that kind. They're a little rough."

Xander stared at the woman. He knew he recognized her from somewhere but couldn't place her. He looked down at his hands and blushed, realizing that he was still holding the tampons.

"Do I know you?" he asked the blonde. "This isn't a pick-up or anything. I just recognize you from somewhere. My name is Xander, by the way. Xander Harris."

"I don't think we know each other. My name is Anya. Pleased to meet you."

The name clicked in Xander's head and he realized who she was. "Oh!" he cried. "You work at Frau zu Mann!"

Anya started. It wasn't very often that she was remembered or recognized by anyone, let alone someone who'd been to her work.

"Yeah," she said, "I am. I'm sorry I didn't recognize you."

"It's ok," Xander said with a grin. "You do look kind of different. I'm surprised I recognized you!"

The blonde bit her lip. He'd been to her bar and was buying tampons. That could mean a number things. Many of which would not work out in her favor. A few of which would. She liked this Xander Harris.

"So those are for you?" she asked the man in front of her, pointing at his box of tampons.

"Ohhh, no no, of course not! They're actually for my mom."

'Score!' Anya thought happily.

"Anyway," Xander continued, realizing that the cold goods in his trolley were melting, "I should be going. It was nice to see you again!"

The blonde dug through her purse and then grabbed a box off the shelf. She pressed it into Xander's hand.

"Your mom might prefer these," she said with a wink. She waved her farewell and walked away.

Xander looked down at the box and noticed a small slip of paper peeking out from underneath it. It was a business card with Anya's address and phone number. On the back the words 'call me' were written neatly. 'Man, she's prepared!' he thought in awe.

**12345**

"What group would be good for me, Binks?"

Willow was sitting at the kitchen table with the paper Donna had given her and a ballpoint pen. She was alone in the house except for Mr Binks, their black cat. Upon returning from university, Willow had found a note on the fridge saying that Buffy was out for the evening with Jim and not to wait up.

"Come on, Binks," the redhead said, massaging the cat behind his ear. "It's just you and me."

The list was extensive and quite hard to narrow down. Willow had countered the problem by making a list of her own. She'd written ten groups that looked interesting.

"I like art and could use the cooking one," she said to her cat, "but maybe these people already know how to cook and it'd be another thing to mess up. What am I good at anyway? Computers? But that's so dull! I'm supposed to be big college girl with new exciting activities."

After coming up with twenty reasons why she couldn't join the ten groups on her new list, the redhead took another look at the one Donna had given her.

"Hmm," she said thoughtfully as she noticed one down the bottom that she had skimmed over before, "I could join the new kid on campus program. It'll be lots of people that don't know each other but are looking for friends. They will be really different sorts of people too!"

Binks purred and rubbed his head against Willow affectionately.

"So you think it's good, Binksy?" she asked excitedly, glad to have reached a decision. "Ok, I'll go to this meeting tomorrow afternoon and see how it goes."

Willow stood and grabbed the cat.

"Come on, pussy, let's go get ready for tomorrow. I'm so nervous!"


End file.
